By Chris Grabenstein
Amazon rating: 4.7/5, grades 3-7
Good Reads: 4.2/5
Common Sense Media: 5/5, ages 8+
4Rbooks: 5+/6, 4-7
291 pages
Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Jake McQuade is a slacker. A cool kid, but a slacker. Doesn’t study, doesn’t try, can’t even remember to bring his basketball shorts to school on game day. All he cares about are his video games, his friend Kojo, and the girl he can’t stop thinking about, Grace.
His life is completely upended and changed one night when he eats an entire jar of jellybeans. Jake doesn’t know that they are the result of a science experiment trying to create “ingestible knowledge.” Suddenly, he knows everything (almost everything, for some reason Spanish escapes him), and can do almost anything. School is no longer a problem, he can’t miss on the basketball court (mathematically deciphering the perfect parabolas to make a basket every time), and Grace invites him to join the quiz bowl team for the district, and then state tournament.
His performance in the tournament brings him fame and before he knows it, he is helicoptered to D.C. where he helps the pentagon and the FBI. He also finds himself in the middle of a scheme by the principal and her uncle to have his beloved middle school closed and a new condominium built in its place. And, can his new found intellect help to solve a centuries-old puzzle which may lead to buried pirate treasure.
Parental Guidance: low
Some middle grade body related language and humor.
An adult gives a child a laxative laced brownie.
Jake’s house is broken in to and he is framed for stealing quiz bowl
answers.
The villains try to trap the children in a cave and kill them.
The principal is one of the villains trying to get the school closed so that an
expensive highrise building can be built in its place.
A disgusting factoid is given that the ancient Romans used urine as
mouthwash.
The backstory of the treasure being hidden includes a cabin boy who
watched his father be murdered.
Recommendation:
Parents who were fans of the TV show Chuck will enjoy introducing this novel to their children (the first of two). Like Chuck, Jake suddenly has a brain full of knowledge and lots of people wanting to take advantage of it, and potentially putting him in danger.
There is a definite similarity among the various novels of Mr. Grabenstein who has become one of my favorite children’s authors of recent years and I’ve reviewed several of his works on this website. They all involve children working together to solve puzzles and problems with lots of historical and scientific facts thrown in. They might be a tough class read for a teacher because of the scatological humor, but I would have no problem putting this book on a library shelf and recommending it to students. It provides opportunities for discussions about changing perceptions and the value of hard work versus instant success.
The chapters are short, the pace is quick, and it is an easy read. Great for reluctant readers, and advanced students who like learning new things and attempting to solve puzzles. There is also a nice cross-cultural angle to the story with the Spanish language featured prominently in the story. This is the first of a two-book series, so far.
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